Truth
by Kayo-San
Summary: She asked for a world wherein she could be killed. He was killed, and in doing so, was immortalized. Stand-alone sequel to Trust. Tentative 3-shot in the first 3 SAO verses.
1. Part I - If Monsters Were People

Grant me some artistic license with this, hope you make some sense of it.

* * *

He thought it normal, Yume thought it cruel.

It, being the players having only once a chance at living.

* * *

"Welcome to the Pre-Stage of Level 100."

As she commanded, banners unfurled, and party poppers went off.

All the level clearers immediately went for their weapons, the sounds of their blades sliding out of their sheathes, an audible _click._

"Everyone, be on guard! Recon party reported that Field Boss is humanoid, mage-class attacker."

She floats down from the ceiling, legs only forming as she meets the ground.

Looking at the entire group, she takes a count.

"And despite knowing that, you didn't bring in a full 48-strong team."

Gesturing, she closes the doors.

Tapping the invisible screen in front of her, she opens the command prompt screen, and the system generates a banquet table.

Their formation is close knit, a strongly defensive team.

"This is the defensive half of the Clearers. No Senko, no Kuro Kenshin. Hm. And no Heathcliff. I would think that he was the player with the highest defense stat amongst all the players. They must have really sent you all in to die, Recon Team 2."

 _It's always amusing to rile people up._

Some of the clearers looks ready to explode, some, aren't so certain.

Waving off their concerns, she tells them to sit.

"Please, help yourself. Once you are fed, we can continue talking."

Ever so cautiously, they seat themselves, but how carelessly they eat.

 _Well, at least it's not poisoned._

Yume has always been strong.

She treasures her strength.

Knowing that these are lives she's playing with, knowing that this is how much they have to trust her…

She smiles.

 _Once, I had someone who smiled at me._

 _The direct opposite of the Kuro Kenshin._

It's almost sorrow that crosses her visage as she thinks back to what she did to enter this world.

A world where people died.

* * *

"Hime-sama…"

She blinks at their form of address.

Having chosen to sit on a random wooden chair, she subtly checks for a crown on her head.

"There's no need to be so formal, Klein-san."

He draws back, surprised.

"You know my name..?"

As she stands, they follow suit.

Pulling out the command prompt again, she clears the room, pulling out data sheets by the side.

"Klein, Level 91 Guild Leader of Fuurinkazan, 6 member, green-type guild. 1 orange offence, 2 player kills, over a thousand monster kills."

She watches the Samurai swallow.

 _Role playing is heavy even in real life._

Yume respects that.

"It was honourable still. That you offered a player killer a lease of life. Despite having to strike him down again, that gift… was wholly yours."

He must startle, because she watched that fight.

Watched someone faced with so terrible a choice, watched his blade slip, and kill.

A blue gem, so pretty it was, sacrificed for someone so impure that even the system sought to rebel.

She pulls the conversation from him, by reopening the doors to chaos.

* * *

The other clearers rush in, yelling for their friends.

Kirito is by Klein's side, checking him all over, even as his breathing slowly evens.

She closes the door quietly.

Pulling out the command prompt, she blows it up in size.

"Designated as Anti-Crystal Area. Moderator Summons: All Players."

Once more, she watching confusion unfold, like on the first day.

In that expanse of the room, clearers in the middle, other players, mostly level 1s to 20s filling the gaps at an increasing speed.

Unlike the first day, and unlike Kayaba-sama, she doesn't announce her presence as a system announcement.

Yume waits for them to acknowledge her.

And they do.

Because she's floating above them, and even the clearers are silent.

She then converts to her Moderator Form.

Kayaba-sama looks like a hooded reaper.

She looks like a bishop, all dressed in white.

"Welcome, to the Crystal Pavilion."

At that moment their floor changes.

It shifts at moments, reflecting all the levels that the players have passed.

The good, the bad.

"I am Yume, a Game Moderator. I am the Field Boss of Level 100. Allow me to expose some of the inner workings of Sword Art Online."

She paints the genius of Kayaba Akihiko, of his belief that life in a game could be much better than in real life.

She shows them how all the players proved them wrong.

"Regardless of what you may have viewed the game creator as, I would like to firmly state that he knew players would kill in the game. This pavilion was created to hold 9000 players. But 2000 players died before a month passed."

There're whispers of ill-concealed hate.

"The Monument of Life may not tell you the cause of death, but the system remembers. 300 were beta players, and of these beta players, around 200 were killed out of anger and jealousy. What this game exposed, was how dirty and crooked you players alive are."

* * *

She thought it curious, Kayaba-sama thought her a sadist.

It, being how they would react once they found out.

* * *

Some clearers look ill.

 _They're naive._

But even she, would like to believe in human goodness.

"This fortress is called Aincrad. It comes from shortening An Incarnating Radius. It also hides a secret of the numbers we used to compute the code. All values inputted by the system, are in radians. But all values affected by players are in degrees. 1 radian is converted to 57.2958 degrees. Players have 1 chance at living. To the system, everyone had 57.2958 lives."

And to them, it doesn't make any sense.

It shouldn't.

"Every person who died, got incarnated into a monster. When a living person killed that same monster, that monster respawned. Over the technical linkages and filler NPC data that was created, every person would experience dying 58.2958 times before their data was deleted from our servers. Their physical bodies died the first time."

She can only smile, watching as it sinks in.

And her voice is purposefully soft.

"But subsequently, the deaths destroyed their minds. Crammed with the monster instinct. Being run through by players they thought were good. Being unable to retaliate, or be strong enough to kill. That is An Incarnating Radius."

Yume swaps out of Mod to Field Boss mode.

Staff reforming, she's too fast for them to do anything about it.

"Crystal Bloom."

 _The blooms are so pretty, it's a pity that they become stained by blood so early._

Everyone chops at the base, trying to cut the weak players free, but they, don't stand a chance.

The ones who survive have their legs severed.

"This is a test of your determination. Lose your humanity, or die."

Some charge headlong at her.

These, she applauds, each clap punctuated by the crunch of a spike piercing a ribcage.

"Crystalline Dance."

She watches the Kuro Kenshin fall back with all the rest of his friends.

 _Somewhere else, Shi-sama would have gone in headlong either way, with all of us gladly following simply because we trust him._

Of course, then, there wasn't the threat of permanent death.

* * *

There's a death count above them, and the numbers are increasing steadily.

Yume is a monster, and she knows that.

Killing like this is easy to her, because she's so strong they just fall one after another.

She doesn't stop, not until she feels that _sharp_ blade sliding between her ribs, puncturing her right lung.

As her lungs deflate, she sighs, crumpling against the hands that catch her.

She looks up.

"You didn't even kill me in your actual form, Kayaba-sama."

He doesn't smile, not understanding sentimentality.

Kayaba-sama is a genius, but he's a socially stunted and emotionless idiot as well.

"I completed both our scans. Maybe we'll see each other again someday. It was… nice meeting you, Yume."

He announces his identity, and tells the remaining players that he is their final boss.

The Ruby Palace was the hall of lost souls, where all human formed monster souls had just been summoned to.

A Battle Royale.

She closes her eyes, and doesn't talk anymore.

Like he would, a day or so later, she _shattered_ _._

* * *

He thought it was an experiment, Yume knew it was torture.

It, being the entirety of Sword Art Online.

* * *

Grant me leeway with the math. I know it doesn't affect normal numerical calculations so directly, but, I pretend. It's really a pain converting back and forth.

Unrelated note, anyone going for math tests, remember to check that your calculator is in the right mode (Be it degree or radians) before you do the paper.


	2. Part II - Then One Would Kill

Refer to profile for chapter briefs!

* * *

"What do you want to do next, Kayaba-sama?"

He arches an eyebrow at the male next to him.

"How have your data files been processed, Yume?"

"Advanced Artificial Computerised Intelligence, Game NPC, Yume. Cardinal Rights."

Kayaba Akihiko nods in approval.

"And I am KayabaA, Profile Heathcliff, Game Creator. Override Cardinal Rights."

"Considering our data was copied precisely, player data from SAO must have been imported by a human hand."

He hums.

"Then we must prepare again. Player data from SAO means their own consciousness."

 _This is an experiment to him._

 _He doesn't care so much about players being trapped here._

 _After all, Yume made it so that people's data could be transferred._

 _Both of them are simply curious as to what is going on in this world._

* * *

It's been a while since the Seed went live.

But within its programming, Kayaba-sama and I are still alive.

Digitalised, with every new creation that builds upon our system, we have access to everything we would need to keep up to date with the outside world.

And with enough luck, we would be able to link with other types of servers and establish ourselves with Admin powers.

Perhaps, it would get boring after a while, but no one said that we couldn't play.

Kayaba-sama is happy to just be at the maxed level, with undefined stats and the ability to instantly wipe out anyone who attacks him.

But I would rather play.

Instead of just giving myself stats, I wanted to be strong and use those stats to crush players.

I wanted to play this game and be the character that people both fear and respect.

Heathcliff is a Spriggan, and it came as a surprise to me.

I had thought he would retake the colour red, as a Salamander.

"Why?"

He gives me an odd look.

"Because illusions play with every players' mind. If I trip over something by accident, I can simply explain it away as my passive magic."

Breaking the silence as I choose my avatar's form, he asks, "Was there not supposed to be a higher tier race of Alfs?"

We've already run the finder on the game files.

"There's nothing pertaining to the race, other than the supposed fan theory. They may have been misinformed, or it may be encrypted outside of these servers, only for release later."

Pushing the screens to a side, he openly wonders.

"What kind of NPC battles, has levels, and gains EXP?"

I smile.

"A bored one, Kayaba-sama. A sentient, and bored one."

He snorts lightly.

"What kind of blade user fires his blades as arrows?"

"One with recall abilities and was supposed to have a tank guarding."

* * *

Once more, Kayaba is in black, and Yume is in white.

It's a contrast that matches.

They choose where to spawn, Kayaba cloaking both of them in Spriggan illusion magic.

"Why give it to Kirito-san when he destroyed Aincrad?"

His voice is even when he asks, but Yume is burning with curiosity.

"I didn't realise you were so petty a person, Yume."

He avoids the main point.

"Did you know that he would choose to be selfless and share it with the world?"

His former partner laughs.

"Selfless, Yume? Both you and I have seen what he's had to do to ensure the safety of the others. That was not selflessness, but rather, his desire to rid himself of all responsibility."

They walk into the Spriggan hometown, and no one bats an eyelash.

Some drop compliments for Kayaba's illusion.

Yume isn't all that sure what about it they're complementing.

Kayaba only inclines his head, they're headed to the mansion to find the leader of the Spriggans.

Their stint here is entirely for fun, doing this, Kayaba wants his name spread, that Kirito would come find him.

A building in both black and white, faintly grey accents. An European-styled home, vintage gates swung open, Spriggan flag flying, demarcating the Lord's presence.

Having pre-announced their desire to visit, the guards at the entrance do not bar them.

The lord only glances them once over.

"I've heard only good things of the both of you. Kayaba-san, do you desire my seat?"

Yume is the first to laugh gently, system distorting that to an electronic buzz.

"Hideo-san, he has no reason to covet your seat. Instead, make use of us."

They offer their services like that, and Hideo arches an eyebrow.

"Are the contributions I have made so far not enough?"

Kayaba questions it, surprise evident, considering he illegally used his Mod-abilities to summon the gold.

Yume is a system program, bound to the service of Kayaba, but he's fine like that.

Accepting the classification by others as an extremely rare form of 'Navigation Pixie'.

It wasn't as if he could blame them for thinking him to be something as weak as those tiny faeries.

It wasn't as if he even knew the name of his race, if he had any.

Chances are, he was modelled after some secret boss no one had encountered yet.

Hideo shakes his head, "Your contributions have allowed our city to expand at an alarming rate. However, our improvements have not gone unnoticed. We now, face the threat of the Salamanders."

"Salamanders, Hideo-san?"

 _Naturally, it would be the hot headed, battle hungry supremacists._

So it's his narrowminded world view, because this is their world, not just some game.

"Yes. As you may know, the Cait Sith and Sylphs are forming an alliance in accordance with their leaders' irl friendship. Mortimer-san is obviously unhappy with such a thought. It threatens the Salamander's domination of the areas. The location of the treaty signing was released, in hopes that the large amount of attention would prevent anyone from interrupting. But our Spriggan scouts detected an army, led by General Eugene leaving the Salamander base."

Before Kayaba-san says anything, Yume has already pulled out the world map.

Glowing red spots are concentrated in an area, moving slowly.

 _1:1000, they're moving at 10km/h._

"We understand, Hideo-san."

Their leader interlaces his fingers.

"You need not win the fight, just support Sakuya and Alicia enough to show our commitment."

* * *

"Yume, can you kill General Eugene?"

"From a distance, Kayaba-sama?"

He arches an eyebrow.

"I won't last in a sword fight, if that's what you mean. Kayaba-sama, will you not fight?"

Kayaba Akihiko smiles vaguely.

"You only need to stall the dearest general for a minute or so, once we arrive. Then, someone very interesting will show up."

Yume dips his head.

"I could defeat him, if I tapped into the game system, but that would lose the fun of it."

And they stop, roughly 30 meters away, listening to the General taunt the surrounded Cait Sith and Sylph forces.

He draws his blade back, feeling the tension of his bow.

It's a small delegation of less than 40 in total.

An entire Salamander army contingent arrived.

"Release it in an arch. I will be casting illusion magic to hide the actual blade."

Yume complies.

"[Our], [Shadow Copies]."

And a storm of blades descend on the army.

Most are scattered, attempting to dodge, and those who raise a blade to block, soon realise that the blades are simply illusions.

That was the beauty of the attack, in causing confusion, but not allowing the Salamanders with the [Rage] passive activate their ability.

Of course, as he expected, General Eugene would lash out in an arch, cutting through the shadow copy meant for him, allowing the real blade through his guard, and through his neck.

 _It's a pity swordsmen are careless and headstrong._

"I meant for it to go through his forehead. But. I suppose the neck works just as fine."

Kayaba uncloaks them, and they fly over to the Cait Sith and Sylph side.

He bows first, Yume following.

"Spriggan Ambassador Kayaba offers his greetings to Ladies Sakuya and Alicia, on behalf of Lord Hideo. We apologise for being late."

* * *

Kirito and a Sylph girl appear only moments later, as Kayaba-sama predicted.

"Thank you for your assistance, Kayaba-kun. Our races are indebted, if there is anything that we can assist in, please do say so."

They gesture Kirito over, and are recognised almost immediately.

"This is Kirito, a rising member of our Spriggan community. We intend in conquering the World Tree, but we require aid, will you help us, Ladies Cait Sith and Sylph?"

But a word, and they agree, "Ironic really, that team work across races is needed, but at the end only one race is rewarded."

I shake my head.

"Current data had no such knowledge of an Alf race. The World Tree may be not meant for conquering. Instead, it's simply personal curiosity that drives our wish."

* * *

"You… you were that Crystal Mage on Level 100, weren't you?"

Kayaba takes over, "It's a pleasure to see you again, Kirito-kun. I am surprised that you remember Yume."

Yume chooses to reply, "I am that Crystal Mage."

He takes it remarkably well.

"Thank you."

It's not what either of them expect.

"Why?"

"For helping me to the top of the World Tree."

Both frown.

"The Seed was not meant for purposes of scientific experimentation on human consciousness. This is self-serving in purpose. We are simply lucky that Asuna-san is at the top, and that you, Kirito-kun are going after her."

He takes the chance to laugh, "I haven't gotten there yet, but I think you give yourselves too little human appreciation."

Confusion.

One nearly non-human, the other without proper emotions.

"I think, maybe now, I can understand you both a little bit more. As to why you would create such a game, and why you would be willing to kill people for it."

* * *

People live only once, and they try their best to make the most of that one time.

In such a 'one time', people can even kill to get the best out of it.

Kayaba Akihiko, Yume and even Kirigaya Kazuto are no exceptions.

* * *

Flat and off-toned, I hope Kirito's desire to save Asuna is relate-able to Kayaba and Yume's wishes.

Didn't want to draw out the fight scene, and wanted to keep our black-white pair still out on the sidelines, leaving Kirito to do his usual.

Call it cowardly, but Yume always has been the ranged fighter.

Kayaba would call it smart.

Hope you enjoyed,

Pleased that this is before 11/12,

Kayo


End file.
